Internal-combustion engine.



No. 644,566. Patented Mar. 6, I900.

= B. M. ASLAKSON.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

(Application filed Oct. '17, 1898.)

2 Sheets-$heet I.

(No Model.)

L fi z.

No. 644,566. Patented Mar. 6, I900. B. m. ASLAKSON. INTERNAL COMBUSTIONENGINE.

(Application filed Oct. 17, 1898.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Idlllllll wig NORRIS PETERS 00,. Fno'roumo WASHINGYON a NITEDI STATEBAXTER M. ASLAKSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGlNl-I.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,566, dated March 6,1900.

Application filed October 17, 1898- Serial No. 693,731. (No model.)

To (tZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BAXTER M. ASLAKSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-CombustionEngines, of which the following is a specification.

class of internal-combustion engines in which the motive fluid employedconsists of a mixture of air and vaporized, oil and in which such motivefluid is drawn or sucked into the piston-cylinder by the action of thepiston and then exploded by any suitable igniting device. As essentialfeatures an engine operating upon this principle usually comprises apiston and piston-cylinder, a crank-shaft provided with a balance-wheeland with which the said piston is connected, suitable supply and exhaustvalves and means for operating the same, a mixing-chamber wherein theair and vapor are mixed preparatory to admitting the mixture to thepiston-cylinder, and a mixer or device for regulating or controlling theadmission of oil to the said mixingchamber.

The object of my invention, generally 7 stated, is to increase or raisethe efficiency of internal-combustion engines. Certain special objectsare to insure, with regard to quantity, a uniform and invariableadmission of oil to the mixing-chamber; to avoid lifting or raising theoil into the mixing-chamber by means of the vacuum created by the pistonwithin the cylinder; to insure a supply of oil to the mixing-chamber atall times of a uniform quality and character; to provide a simple andcompact mixer capable of draining itself free of oil when the enginestops running; to permit a free and unrestricted flow of the oil 5 toprovide a simple arrangement for regulating the admission, and also toprovide certain details tending to increase the general efficiency.

To the attainment of the foregoing and other useful ends my inventioncontemplates a mixer having a supply-duct through which is maintained aconstant, uniform, and nonregulated flow of oil and having also a valvedadmission-duct leading laterally from the supply-duct to themixing-chamber. The supply-duct is preferably straight and of a uniformsize or diameter throughout its length and arranged to leaddirectlydownward from the bottom of a suitable overflow-chamber. Withsuch arrangement the flow of oil through the supply-duct will be due togravity alone, and consequently the successive admissions 1 of oil tothe mixing-chamber will be of alike My invention relates to thatwell-known or uniform character. The arrangementalso tends to reserve orhold in check the lighter and more volatile portions of the oil, and forthis reason it will be seen that the quality of the oil admitted to themixing-chamber will be substantially the same from first to last.

Other advantages and features of improvement will hereinafter more fullyappear. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of aninternal-combustion engine provided with a mixerconstructed inaccordance with. my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the mixeron an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the mixer on thesame scale. Fig. lis a side elevation of the mixer, a part of thecentral portion thereof being broken away for the purpose ofillustration and a portion of the mixingchamber being also shown. Fig. 5is a section on linea: 0c in Fig. 2.

The engineillustrated comprises in general the mixer A, a mixing-chamberB, a pistoncylinder C, supply and exhaust valves D and E, an air-supplypipe F, leading to the mixing-chamber, an exhaust-pipe G, and an oilpumpH, connected by a pipe h with the said mixer, it being understood thatthe engineis also provided with the usual piston, having suitableconnection with the crank-shaft I. The pump His conveniently operated bythe crank-shaft I through the medium of any suitable connectiontherewith, andthe oil to be supplied to the mixer may be contained inany suitable tank or reservoir. In Fig. 1 such tank or reservoir isshown (in dotted lines) as being located within the base of the engineand connected by the pipes h and IL2, respectively, with the pump andthe mixer. By this latter arrangement the oil will be drawn from thetank by the pump H and by the latter forced through pipe h to the top ofthe mixer. From the top of the mixer the oil will enter the tank.

' 4, and 5, it will be seen that the said mixer A, consideredexternally, consists of a compact and symmetrical casting comprisingupper and lower cylindric portions to and a, a middle portion a, andintermediate or connecting portions a a and a a. The portion a inclosesan overflow-chamber a while the portion a serves to inclose what may forconvenience be termed a receiving-chamber a Extending downwardly fromthe bottom of the overflow-chamber to the receivingchamberand throughthe portions (1, a, and a is what I term, for reasons hereinafterfullyexplained,a supply or gravity duct a. Leading laterally from thesaid duct to and communicating with the said mixingchamber B (see Figs.3, 4,and 5) is an admission-duct a, while extending downwardly throughportions a a and a to the chamber a is an overflow or by-pass duct a,which serves to connect the latter with the upper portion of the saidoverflow-chamber M.

In operation the oil is drawn from the tank and forced through pipe 7t,as previously described, and discharged into the overflowchamber (L Theoil continuing thus to flow by reason of the constant operation of thepump will fill the said chamber a to an extent or height sufficient tocause an overflow therefrom, and such overflow of oil then descending byway of the duct a will be received by the chamber a and from the latterreturned to the tank by way of the pipe h Simultaneously with such fiow, however, a certain quantity of oil will descend from theoverflow-chamber by way of the duct a" and, dropping into thereceiving-chamber,also return to the said tank or reservoir. A constantflow of oil through the ducts a and a is in this way secured, and whilethe How through the latter may vary to some extent the flow through theformer will be substantially the same at all times. The flow of oilthrough the duct a" is due to gravity alone, and while any increase inthe pumping action would necessarily result in an increase of flowthrough the duct a such change would obviously have no effect upon thespeed of flow through the duct a". The only requisite, therefore, toinsure a constant and invariable flow of oil through the said duct a" isa pumping action sufficient at all times to keep the overflow-chamberfull.

\Vhen a vacuum is formed within the mixing-chamber B by the action ofthe piston, a small quantity of oil will be drawn or deflected from theduct a into and through the admission-duct a and then entering themixing-chamber will vaporize and mix with the air, which latter is alsodrawn into the chamber B by the action of the piston. The admission-ducta may be of any ordinary or suitable formation; but as a matter offurther improvement such duct consists of two portions 1 and 2, thelatter relatively short and entirely within the metal of the casting,while the former is relatively long,

bent at its inner end, so as to join the said portion 2,and boredthrough the stem or shank of the rotary valve a. By this arrangement theadmission of oil to the mixing-chamber may be controlled or regulated atwill by turning or partially rotating the valve so as to bring the twoportions 1 and 2 of the duct a more or less out of register. In this waythe valve serves as a means for throttling the admissions, and for thisreason my invention may be said to contemplate not only a gravity-duct,through which a constant and non-regulated flow of oil is maintained,but also a lateral admission-duct having a throttle-valve for throttlingor varying the admissions; or, in other words, my invention contemplatesan internal-combustion engine in which the oil is permitted to have afree and unrestricted flow through a supply-duct and in which therunning of the engine is controlled by throttling the admissions throughthe lateral admission-duct rather than by checking or varying the flowof oil. A coilspring or, is interposed between the handwheel a of thesaid valve and the portion a of the mixer, and to hold the valve inplace against such spring-pressure the valvestem is convenientlythreaded and screwed into the mixer, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The saidhand wheel is provided with a pointer a, and the flat surface of theportion a of the mixer is marked or graduatedas, for instance, at a (seeFig. 2) whereby the operator may give the valve the proper and desireddegree of rotation. The valve when thus turned will be firmly held insuch position by the pressure or friction of the spring a, and in thisway the size of the admission-duct may practically be changed or variedaccording to requirements. The mixer is conveniently secured to themixing-chamber by bolts or screws extending through the bolt-holes a".The duct a as compared with the duct a is preferably relatively smalland of uniform diameter from top to bottom. The relative size of the twoducts may, however, be varied to some extent without departing from thespirit of my invention, as all that is required is a by-pass ductsufficiently large to insure at all times an unrestricted flow or escapeof the overflow, for it will be readily understood that such free andunrestricted escape of the overflow is necessary in order to avoidpressure in the overflow-chamber and a consequent and undesirablepressure in the duct to. The flow of oil through the d not a shouldpreferably and at all times be due entirely to gravity, as anypump-pressure communicated to such duct would obviously result in anundesirable flow of oil through the duct a and thence into themixing-chamber. The shape or formation of the duct a may also be variedsomewhat without departing from the spirit of my invention, providingsuch change or variation does not for reasons just explained result increating pressure within the said duct.

For instance, it would hardly be desirable to make the lower end of theduct smaller than the middle portion, though it is clearly evident thatthat portion of the duct above the admission duct could be enlargedwithout harmful results. However, -as previously stated, I find itpreferable to provide a straight vertical supply-duct, as by so doing Isecure a uniform and invariable flow of oil past the admission-duct andavoid all liability of an undue fiow of oil through the latter.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I provide a mixer forinternal-combustion engines which is simple and compact and whichinsures with reference to quantity an invariable or a uniform admissionof oil to the mixing-chamber; also, that by my invention I avoidemploying the vacuum to raise or lift the oil into the mixing-chamberthat is to say, the admission-duct being preferably horizontal for itsfull length no lifting or upward drawing of the oil by the vacuum in themixing-chamber will be necessary. As a further advantage the mixer, itwill be observed, will at once drain itself free of oil when the enginestops running, as in such event all the oil contained in theoverflow-chamber will be free to flow therefrom by way of the ductsa anda and then back to the tank by way of the pipe 'h It will also be seenthat the mixer, involving, as it does, a non-regulated supply-duct andregulated admission-duct, permits a constant, uniform, and unrestrictedflow of the oil and at the same time permits the running of the engineto be controlled or varied at will by simply regulating or varying theadmission. This method of operation tends to insure a steady and evenrunning of the engine and in this way a comparativelyhigh degree ofelficiency. It will also be noted that the relative size of thesupply-duct and by-pass is such that the latter is at all times capableof disposing of the overflow from the chamber a thus rendering itunnecessary to makeprovision for controlling the supply of oil to suchchamber.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In an internal combustion engine, amixer and vaporizer provided with a non-regulated gravity-duct, meansfor maintaining a constant flow of oil therethrough, an admission ductor passage extending laterally from the side of said gravity-duct, and athrottlevalve arranged in the said admission duct or passage forthrottling or varying the admission of oil to the mixing-chamber,substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In an internal combustion engine, a mixer and vaporizer comprising anoverflowchamber, a gravity-duct leading downward from the bottom of saidoverflow-chamber, an admission duct or passage leading laterally fromthe side of said gravity-duct, means for supplying oil to saidoverflow-chamber and thereby maintaining a constant and uniform flow ofoil through said gravity-duct, a suitable mixing-chamber communicatingwith said admission-duct, and a throttle-valve arranged in saidadmission duct or passage, whereby the supply of oil to themixingcham-ber can be varied at will and without checking or in any wayvarying the flow of oil through said gravity-duct.

3. In an internal combustion engine, a mixer and vaporizer comprising anoverflowchamber, a non-regulated supply-duct leading downwardly from thelower portion of said chamber, a valve-controlled and normally-openadmission-duct leading laterally from the said supply-duct,and a by-passleading from the top of said overflow-chamber.

4. In an internal combustion engine, a mixer and vaporizer comprising anoverflowchamber, a non-regulated supply-duct leading downwardly from thelower portion of said chamber, the said supplyduct being also straightand substantially of a uniform diameter throughout its length, avalve-controlled and normallyopen admission-duct leading laterally fromthe said supplyduct, and a by-pass which leads from the top of saidoverflow-chamber and which is of a larger diameter than the saidsupply-duct.

5. In an internal combustion engine, a mixer and vaporizer comprising amixingchamber; a supplyduct through which a constant, uniform andnon-regulated flow of oil is maintained; a normally-open admission-d uctleading laterally from the said sup ply-duct to the mixing-chamber, aportion of said admission-duct being bored through the stem or shank ofa rotary valve, whereby the admission of oil to the mixing-chamber maybe regulated or controlled by turning the said valve, and means forsupplying oil to the said supply-duct.

6. In a mixer and vaporizer for internalcombustion engines, thecombination of a straight and vertical supply-duct which isnon-regulated and which is of a uniform size throughout its length, anormally-open and valve controlled or regulated admission-duct leadinglaterally from the side of said supply-duct, and means for supplying oilto the said supply-duct, whereby a free and unrestricted flow of oil maybe maintained through the latter, and whereby the successive admissionsof oil through the said admissionduct may be controlled or varied atwill.

BAXTER M. ASLAKSON.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR CAMERON, D. AUSTIN, J r.

